mstateglfr 

^ username checks out.

wolfchild

Agreed

Trakhak

FYI, it's "teetotalers," not "teatotalers."

I haven't seen anyone in this thread advising others to drink or not to drink---just reporting their own experiences.

PDKL45

Exactly, but people often get defensive when it comes to drinking and see your choice not to drink as you being sactimoniously judgemental, when all you've said is "no thanks, I don't drink" after being offered a beer. To be fair, though, some ex-drinkers are vocal about what others choose to do, but that agressive defensiveness caused by your mere presence gets a bit old at times.

veganbikes

Teetotalers just FYI but no abstaining from alcohol is not irksome and I don't think anyone here has done any preaching or anything like that. Talking about your experiences and encouraging people to drink a little less especially when they are maybe drinking to excess or providing resources for those who might want help is certainly not anything like people preaching. People who cannot admit they might have an issue or at least accept that not drinking is OK have the real issue.

People always like to complain when their dominant activity which is being accepted as the norm is not being promoted. There are alcohol commercials and promotion of alcohol everywhere but how dare someone say maybe drink a little less or if you need help there are some places to help or just say hey I had a drinking problem and this is what happened to me and that is it.

I enjoy alcohol but I sometimes realize that yeah maybe I have gone farther than I need to but if you want to drink drink drink go for it do your thing. If you don't great there are people and groups to help but do whatever I just would hate to see people destroy their lives over alcohol, I have seen it before and had friends die but I haven't stopped drinking because of it I have just tried to be reasonable and enjoy my alcohol not just take it as a contest to drink the most.

Outrider1

Vegan, you just proved my experience.

cjenrick

I got a DUI on a bike. Made the newspaper, San Jose Mercury. "Pedaling While Pickled" was the headline. They were going to suspend my license for three years and my insurance would have gone up.

I got online and researched the DMV laws. Much to my delight, I discovered a new law that had just been passed that said that a bicycle DUI could not count against your vehicle record. They removed the suspension and my rates stayed the same.

Turns out a California state senator's son got arrested for a bike DUI. So he pushed for the law to be changed. That's the way politics works.

Neat thing was they put the bike in the trunk of the patrol car. I got to pick it up from the station free of charge,no towing fee,no impound fee,no release form needed.

Some of my best riding has been done when hammered drunk. One time on vodka and cocaine I sprinted up a 20 percent grade in the tallest gear on my stump jumper, a hill that I normally use the lowest gear.

Another time I took the road bike out at night after an all night drinking session. I went down a ultra steep MTN bike trail full of 1 foot deep ruts, did it at night with no light, kept the skinny tires on top of the narrow rut peak and made it down without a dab.

Then there was the night on the dirt bike with no light after a case of Mickey,s...

shrtdstncrdr

As someone who has a real congenital heart defect which culminated in a year's lost work and thus income, and who's ongoing treatment is found at one of the top thirty hospitals in heart care, I've not been told to avoid alcohol by any heart professional. Maybe because I rarely drink to begin with. From what I gather, the symptoms of moderate (take that for what you will, I suppose) drinking have been largely overstated. Refraining from keeping (or trying to keep) up with your peers in any activity after you hit middle age might be a bigger problem.

Here's a better idea. If your friends don't drink, don't let them dictate whether or not you do. If your friends do drink, same answer.

My family, extended as well, is a poor example for this thread. They all drank and lived well into their eightes. Does this infer genetics? No idea. I'm the only one with heart problems. No one else in my family has had this issue. (yet it's congenital)

I remember when eggs were bad for you. And coffee. Then red meat. I forget what the latest boogeyman is, but if you avoid it you won't ever die.

mschwett 

i suppose it’s because i’m not part of any social cycling culture other than a few close friends who also ride, but the connection between the two seems extremely strange to me. exercise, exercise on a vehicle… and alcohol? i don’t even feel all that great riding hard after eating, let alone with a buzz. and that great cleaned out feeling after a hard ride would be ruined by a buzz.

… and i love to drink, socially, occasionally, and far more than is healthy on those occasions.

wolfchild

I don't think anybody here was advocating drinking and riding at the same time. We're talking about enjoying a drink at home after a ride.

wolfchild

The latest boogeyman is carbohydrates...There are experts on internet claiming that avoiding carbohydrates will cure all diseases and extend your lifespan.

PeteHski

This says more about your narrow mindset really.

veganbikes

Exactly how am I like someone preaching at you? Maybe it is reading comprehension issues, which are very common.

If you are able to, and no judgement if not, I would try and read my second paragraph, that explains things decently and why you believe it is preaching. If say more people, places and things were alcohol-free and drinking was not the norm you would be complaining "those drinkers are preaching at me", if someone mentioned drinking even if it was just I enjoy Mezcal sometimes. It is quite common not just on this topic but all over the place. If the dominant behavior is not portrayed then people go crazy. They don't like for the non-dominant opinion to be supported in anyway and they feel like they are being challenged even if not being challenged at all.

Like I said in the previous post if you want to drink go for it, if you don't fine. I just personally don't recommend drinking to excess and for myself in my own life, and not others, I am trying to cut back. You don't have to do that, it might be something to try but if you don't want to whatever.

Nachoman

I think all my cycling friends drink pretty heavy.
And I probably drink a bit too much too. But certainly doesn't seem like a problem.

wolfchild

This has nothing to do with health. Anytime a topic of alcohol comes up it becomes a moral debate.

mschwett 

seems like people are talking about quite a few things, including drinking at a social stop during a ride, or after a ride, or by yourself at home after a ride. just doesn’t have any appeal to me in whichever order, and as i said i do enjoy drinking. not a moral or health issue at all to me. just two activities that don’t go well together.

terrymorse 

If you're a cyclist, you might have a drinking problem.

But if you're a cyclist and a runner, there's no hope for you.




Then again, it could be worse. You could be a triathete:

wolfchild

Alcohol abstinence or teetotaling has it's roots and origins in religious dogma. So yes it's exactly the same mindset. It's all about moral virtues and moral superiority and has nothing to do with health.

Chuck Naill

I heard a singer say she was giving up on sober and is now soberish.

drlogik 

I don't think cycling has any more of a drinking problem than any other sport. If a person is prone to alcohol addiction that carries into every facet of their life. For most people, casual drinking is part of everyday life and they can control it. Others can't control it.

Then there are the Hash House Harriers or "Hashers", a drinking and running club that originated in Kuala Lumpur in 1938 and took off from there with clubs all over the world. I ran in one of their events many years ago and although a lot of fun I never did it again.

wolfchild

I am sure there are more alcoholics amongst the non-cycling community then within the cycling community.

Trakhak

Not quite. The accusation that people choose to abstain for some specific reason that can be imputed to dogma reminds me of this old joke:

"Why are you growing a beard?"

"I'm not doing anything. You're shaving."

In my case, I decided not to bother with drinking after wondering as a kid why anyone would deliberately ingest toxins. Plenty of my friends, during and after our teen years, tried to persuade me to try drinking (or taking drugs) with them. I would just laugh. I guess I have more resistance to peer pressure than average. It is true that they were usually fun to be around after they started drinking, for about an hour.

veganbikes

In my case I am talking health. I don't care about morals in this case, generally I don't find alcohol to be immoral. Alcohol is fine, excessive drinking is just not great for the health and the health of those around you in some cases. However if you want to drink yourself into a stupor go for it. Just don't involve us. However I would take a little better care of yourself, not for me not for anyone else but for yourself.

Koyote

Please show me the moralizing in this thread. I must have missed it.

Koyote

That's a meaningless claim, since the former group is much larger than the latter group.